Roleplaying Tips Weekly Supplemental #14
"The GM's Library"
In this file you'll find reader submitted non-fiction books
that might be useful for GMs. If you have items on your
bookshelf not mentioned here, please drop me a note with:
1) Title and author
2) Publisher and date of publication (if known),
availability (if known)
3) Brief description of contents.
4) Relevance/usefulness to RPGs
A special thanks to Neil Falkner--chief organizer,
categorizer, editor, and librarian of this file.
Cheers,
Johnn Four
johnn@roleplayingtips.com
http://www.roleplayingtips.com
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Following the request for non-fiction books that GMs have
found useful, informative, or inspirational for their
campaigns, the following titles were suggested by Tips
readers.
They are sorted into three categories: General, Medieval,
and Modern, with the following information for each title
(as submitted):
a) Title and author
b) Availability data - publisher, date, and ISBN (where
included)
c) A brief summary of the book's contents
d) An indication of the book's usefulness to GMs and
applicability to role-playing games
Further suggestions of non-fiction titles for inclusion in
later editions of this list are welcome! It would be
appreciated if the format above could be followed as far as
possible. Unfortunately, some recommendations had to be
omitted because nothing more than a title was submitted.
This list was compiled by Neil Faulkner on behalf of Johnn
Four. Comments in [square brackets] preceded by "NF" are by
Neil. All other comments are from the original
contributors.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Contents/Categories
-------------------
1. General. Titles applicable to a range of game genres.
2. Medieval. Useful background reading for injecting some
realism into a fantasy game based, however loosely, on
the middle ages.
3. Modern. I initially divided this category into three
sub-categories, though the first only received one
recommended title. I have retained the division in case
further recommendations for 3a - Modern Horror are
forthcoming.
3a. Modern Day: Horror
3b. Modern Day: Military/Mercenary
3c. Reference Books for the Modern Campaign Setting
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
1. GENERAL
* Edwin Tunis
I have a suggestion for reference books for the GM. Most of
my favorites are already included in the list you just put
out, but there are three I find particularly useful, all by
the same author.
Edwin Tunis was an author and artist who did three excellent
books:
- Weapons: A Pictorial History covers the development of,
well, weapons from the sling up until just after WWII. The
easy-to-read text concentrates on revolutions in weapons or
their use that defined a historical moment, and the
illustrations are beautiful and detailed.
- Wheels: This book covers ground transportation. If you
don't know the difference between a cabriolet and a landau,
this book will explain that. It will also make clear that
the coaches seen in varios "musketeer-era" movies are
actually more typical of 200 years later. Once again,
beautifully illustrated.
- Oars, Sails, and Steam: Covers boats and ships. Good text,
beautiful illustrations.
The best part of these books is that you can say "The count
drives up in his coach" and then actually point to an
illustration of what a nobleman's coach of say 1600 would
actually look like. The text is also pretty clear about what
the weaknesses of the various vehicles or weapons were.
Quite a good resource, these books. They were out of print
for a while (I prize my hardcover "Wheels") but are once
again available in softcover--I ordered mine through
alibris.com.
* "The Art of War", by Sun Tzu
Although there are many many translations and many
publishers, searching amazon.com turned up Oxford University
Press, ISBN 0195014766. I have NOT read this translation,
the translations I own are both out of print.
The text is also available online at (among other locations)
http://www.chinapage.com/sunzi-e.html
There are three categories of content for "The Art of War"
1) The 13 Chapters
The 13 chapters are the part of the book written by Sun Tzu.
These chapters are the teachings of strategy for warcraft.
2) The Commentaries
The commentaries are comments put forward by experts on the
13 chapters. Commentators vary from translation to
translation. I have seen commentaries from Napoleon, James
Wolfe, Custer, Schwarzkopf, as well as Chinese and Japanese
warriors and warlords whose names I will not even attempt to
spell.
3) The History
The history is a very interesting section. It gives a
history of the chapters, the translation, stories about the
life and teachings of Sun Tsu, and of the initial
'discovery' of the texts. The history usually also includes
the history of the Lionel Giles translation of the text (ca
1910).
The 13 chapters and the commentaries are a vary useful
learning tool for anyone wishing to learn better strategic
and tactical thinking. This is relevant in any game, and for
the DM, is helpful when you want to challenge those pesky
players with a tribe of lowly goblins. It would also be
helpful to any player who is interested in playing table top
war games. "The Art of War" is required reading at many
business schools, and I believe it is still on the required
list for both West Point and Royal Military College in
Canada.
The history section is fascinating, but other than following
the story arc, and seeing how the lessons of the 13 chapters
were dispersed across the globe, I do not see a lot of
direct relevance/benefit to the running of an RPG.
* "Robin'sLaws of Good Game Mastering"
Steve Jackson Games (February 2002), Sold at WOTC.
Excellent tips and ideas for getting to know the different
types of gamers, choosing the right game system for you and
your players, campaign building, designing adventures, and
improvisation. A very useful little guide for the GM that
has little experience in the field. While the ideas within
have a distinctive GURPS swing to them, they can be applied
to any system and any gaming style.
* "John Haywoods World Atlas of the Past, Vol. 1-4"
Andromeda Oxford Ltd 1999. Should be relatively easy to get.
Complete maps of the entire world from 10 000 BC - 1975,
with plenty of useful tidbits and general facts of the
period concerned. The maps are wonderful, and put into
context by easy to understand timelines. Mostly relevant
when building your own world, but can also be scoured for
interesting scenarios to inspire your adventures.
* "History's Timeline" by Jean Cook, Ann Kramer, Theodore
Rowland-Entwhistle Barnes & Noble Books. 240pp.
A timeline from 40,000 BC to 1996 AD with notes on key
historical events. Idea springboard; Illustrative of the
constant political and cultural clashes throughout man's
history. Very useful for creating governments, cultures, and
political situations.
* "Facts and Fallacies", many authors - [NF - I could find
no reference to this book at Amazon, which is a shame
because it sounds quite interesting.] edited by Dorling
Kindersley Ltd. for Readers Digest.
Hundreds of weird, funny and creepy "facts" and some tall
tales. A lot of good info here, but not all is relevant to
roleplaying.
* "Shared Fantasy" by Gary Alan Fine
The University of Chicago Press - www.press-uchicago.edu -
1983/2002. Currently in print.
"An ethnography of fantasy role-playing games and gamers."
It's a book, no, it's THE book on role-playing games as
ideocultural entities (social worlds). Shared fantasy does a
top-notch job of dissecting the social metagame that forms
around a role-playing group. After reading this book, I was
better able to understand why I played, why my friends and
associates played, and how to make sure that everyone got
what they needed out of the game. I purchased 10 copies to
give to friends for holiday presents this past year. I can't
recommend this book strongly enough.
* "The Art of War in the Western World" by Geoffrey Archer
[No availability information given.]
Not politics and who did what to who but rather a history of
the development of tactics and strategy. Equipping armies
and movement, supply and battlefield maneuvers. Ranging in
era from ancient to WWII. Not an easy read but fascinating.
Very useful for large scale RPG.
* "The Reader's Digest Book of Natural Wonders"
Reader's Digest Association Inc, 1980.
A hefty (more than 450pp) and lavishly illustrated
collection of the most majestic, spectacular or just
downright bizarre landscape features on Earth, from Aar
Gorge in Switzerland to the Zugspitze of the Bavarian Alps.
All climes and continents are represented in this impressive
selection of mountains, lakes, caves, deltas, canyons,
waterfalls and much else besides. This book (and others like
it) offers useful inspiration to a GM seeking a memorable
locale for a scenario, with the added advantage that you
don't need to describe the terrain to the players when you
can simply show them the photograph.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
2. MEDIEVAL/FANTASY
* First, congratulations on 150 issues. Not many electronic
gaming publications make it that far! Good job!
After seeing a number of book recommendations in RPTW,
particularly the "Life In A Medieval..." books by the Gies',
it brings to mind an excellent book regarding day-to-day
medieval life.
"Fief: A Look at Medieval Society from Its Lower Rungs" by
Lisa J. Steele is an excellent overview of all aspects of
medieval life as the average commoner would experience it.
"Fief" covers the fundamentals of feudal hierarchy,
architecture, animals & agriculture, temporal and
ecclesiastical government, medieval society, population, and
taxes.
I'm glad I bought "Fief" because it is an excellent
reference and idea springboard when I find myself making my
campaign world's governments and cultures too much like 21st
century middle-class America.
"Fief" is available as a nicely illustrated, fully indexed,
100 page PDF e-book from Cumberland Games & Diversions. Get
free sample pages, including the table of contents and the
index at:
http://www.cumberlandgames.com/
http://www222.pair.com/sjohn/fief.htm
* "A Short History of Byzantium" by John J. Norwich.
David McKay Company, Ltd. Hard to find, but the Norwich book
is fairly well-known and new editions are printed every so
often. The most recent trade paperback printing (1998),
still available, is published by Penguin UK, ISBN
0140259600, and runs $24.99 Canadian on www.indigo.ca. Also
available for $11.90 American on www.amazon.com for the 1998
Vintage Books paperback edition.
This book is a fairly well detailed history of Byzantium,
the very best example of a magnificent, then corrupt, then
dying empire. It offers fantastic characters for use as
rulers, from general-kings to boy-figureheads,
licentious queens, and barbarian guards of the king.
Political settings can be lifted directly out of nearly any
page for colour or plot, and political intrigue is rife
throughout. Any character of power, no matter the setting,
can be coloured with the information in this book. I can't
really recommend this book enough.
* Any Tolkien Companion/Encyclopedia/whatever.
Like it or not, Tolkien is a great source of inspiration for
any fantasy roleplaying game. By buying a complete guide of
some kind, you can steal some of the more obscure details,
and nobody will notice. My guide is written by David Day,
who I believe is quite an authority on Tolkien. Given the
recent rise in popularity Tolkien has experienced, getting
any guide on him shouldn't prove difficult.
[NF - I have been led to understand that Mr. Day is rather
liberal in his interpretation of Tolkien's works, though his
books (eg: "A Tolkien Bestiary", Mitchell Beazly Publishers
Ltd 1979) are not necessarily any less useful as a generic
fantasy gaming resource. For the GM planning to run a
campaign in Middle Earth, Robert Foster's "Complete Guide to
Middle Earth" is an indispensable reference. Barbara
Strachey's "Journeys of Frodo" (Unwin Paperbacks 1981)
follows the journeys of the Fellowship of the Ring (not just
Frodo) across Middle Earth in 50 two-colour maps of very
variable scale.]
* "A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of
Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Together
With Some Closely Related Subjects" by G. C. Stone [No
availability information given.]
Some of the research from this book is outdated (it was
originally published in the 20's). But as an RPG reference,
it is still the best single source for every weapon and
armor imaginable. Unlike many modern books it actually
tries to cover as many cultural weapons as possible.
* "Life in a Medieval Castle" by Joseph & France Gies
Harper & Row, New York 1979.
This detailed but entertaining and highly readable book
describes everything you need to know about a medieval
castle from the perspective of those who actually lived
there. Chapters cover such areas as the castle as house, the
castle at war, the lord, lady and the household, a typical
day and a typical year. It is extensively illustrated with
dark but useful photographs as well as many revealing images
from illuminated manuscripts.
For any player of medieval fantasy RPGs, this is an
invaluable resource which really helps to set the scene for
player and referee alike. [NF - Gies and Gies have also
written a companion volume, "Life in a Medieval Village",
which would appear to be at least as useful to the fantasy
GM seeking a bit of social authenticity in his or her
campaign.]
* "The Year 1000: What life was like at the turn of the
First Millennium" by Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger.
Little Brown and Company 1999, ISBN 0 316 64375 0
A month-by-month account of daily life in Anglo-Saxon
England, following the rhythm of the seasons but finding
sound reasons to digress into all manner of social and
domestic topics, such as education, medicine, law, monastic
life and architecture (including that well known incident in
978, when the upper floor of the first documented two-storey
building in England collapsed, leaving archbishop Dunstan
perched on a supporting beam). Written by journalists rather
than historians, and with a blatant eye for cashing in on
the approaching second millennium, this is nevertheless a
rich and lively (if rather disjointed) profile of medieval
life, highly recommended to any GM who wants a bit of
authenticity in his/er fantasy campaign.
* "The Village in Society" by Graham Nicolson and Jane
Fawcett Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1988.
A general account of the English village, from before the
Norman Conquest to the present day. Chapters 1 and 2 deal
with the village in the medieval period, where such things
as the size of settlements and estates, house construction
and organisation, field sizes, crop yields, village
officials and taxes are among the various topics covered to
a greater or lesser degree.
Useful background reading for those GMs who want a feel for
medieval times. Since the rural peasantry comprised at least
three quarters of the medieval population, it's useful to
have some account of how they lived.
* Treasures of Britain
Published: 1977 [NF - I have a book of this title,
presumably an earlier edition, published in 1968 by Drive
Publications Ltd for the Automobile Association. A more
recent edition is apparently available from Amazon.]
This book has all kinds of great things, descriptions of
castles and manors, pictures and descriptions of masterful
pieces of art, pictures and descriptions of all kinds of
booty to distribute. Each Description also gives a little
detail about where it came from and the significance of the
item which is a boost to coming up with ways to introduce it
into your game. When players get tired of the same 'old'
treasure, or when I'm looking for a magical item of immense
power I turn to this book. When I'm in need of a quick
manor house, or location, I turn to this book. It's perfect
for ideas from the real world, and does not give enough
information to inhibit a creative mind.
* "Chaucer's Knight: The Portrait of a Medieval Mercenary" by
Terry Jones. Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1980. Eyre Methuen 1982
(paperback). ISBN 0 413 49640 6
An analysis of the Knight in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales,
placing both the character and the tale he tells within the
context of late 14th Century Europe, where rogue mercenary
companies were bringing knighthood into disrepute and old
social barriers were threatening to come crashing down.
Don't be put off by the fact that the author is best known
as a member of the wacky Monty Python team! He's also a very
diligent historian who paints a gripping and very readable
profile of late medieval society, full of ideas that can be
imported singly or wholesale into a medieval fantasy
setting.
* "The Medieval Machine: The Industrial Revolution of the
Middle Ages" by Jean Gimpel. Holt, Rinehart and Winston
1976.
An account of the state of technology in medieval Europe,
with many surprises tucked away in its pages for those who
thought the Middle Ages were all about proud knights and
wimpled ladies. Gimpel's medieval Europe is a land of greedy
profiteers, rebellious weavers, smog-bound cities and
stinking polluted rivers, where (rather optimistic)
visionaries design wind-powered mobile fortresses, miners do
just about anything they damn well please, and endless
wranglings over milling rights make a lot of lawyers very
well off.
This book paints a very different portrait of the period
compared with most books on the Middle Ages, but is better
seen as complementing rather than contradicting them. It's
full of little background details that could be used to add
touches of colour to a fantasy campaign (how about a fight
in a water-powered saw mill?) and offers intriguing hints of
what might have been developed had the social climate been
more amenable to invention. (Unfortunately - or rather
fortunately! - Gimpel's concluding analysis of the sorry
state of the West in the 20th Century now seems dated and
unnecessarily gloomy, but that's not what this book is worth
reading for.)
* "English Wayfaring Life in the 14th Century" by Jean Jules
Jusserand. First published in 1889. My copy (3rd edition) is
a 13th impression from 1929. A reprint is listed as
available from Amazon.
A comprehensive account of roads and road users in
Chaucerian England, including the state of repair of roads;
the construction and maintenance of bridges; royal and noble
travellers and their retinues; minstrels; inns and ale
houses; fugitives and the provision of sanctuary; hermits
and hermitages; and preachers and pilgrims, true or
otherwise.
No other book I've read gives such an exhaustive account of
the sheer variety of people that made up medieval society.
It's almost overflowing with NPCs for a historical (eg Ars
Magica) campaign, and most of them could be easily adapted
for a fantasy game. There are also plenty of references to
authentic prices, wages and fines, and numerous anecdotes,
many of which might be incorporated into a scenario.
* "The Jesus Conspiracy" by Holger Kersten and Elmar R
Gruber [No availability information given]
Openly skeptical of the radiocarbon test results that date
the Turin Shroud to the 14th Century, the authors set out to
'prove' that the Shroud is genuine by reconstructing its
history. They also offer a theory to account for the
Vatican's wish to have their most famous relic declared a
forgery. From a rolegaming point of view, it matters not
whether Kersten and Gruber's conspiracy theory holds water
or not. This is instead a gripping account of the alleged
power of a holy artefact and its (sometimes putative) impact
on history, theology and art, and a useful case study for a
GM wishing to introduce such an artefact into his or her
campaign. Early Byzantine wars, the sack of Constantinople
and the dissolution of the Templars all get dragged into the
saga. Devout Christians (and not just Catholics) should
however be aware that they will probably find this book
irritating, if not downright offensive.
* "Hearts of Darkness: The European Exploration of Africa"
by Frank McLynn. Hutchinson 1992. ISBN 0 7126 5665 0
An account of European explorers in the Dark Continent, from
James Bruce and Mungo Park to the great names of the
Victorian era - Livingstone, Burton, Speke and Stanley.
Section by section, McLynn details the expeditions and their
routes, the practical process of exploring hostile unknown
territory, the dangers and other obstacles facing the
explorers, and finally a largely unflattering psychoanalysis
of the explorers themselves.
This book is about mostly 19th Century personalities. Why,
then, have I included it in the Medieval/Fantasy section?
Because it's about real-life adventurers leaving
civilisation behind to grapple with the unknown, much as
your average dungeoneer does. They entered hostile
territory, negotiated with potentially unfriendly natives,
had hair-raising encounters with monstrous creatures that
were little more than legend, and sometimes barely lived to
tell the tale. They meddled in local politics, tried (some
of them, anyway) to build their own little private empires,
and more than once behaved in such an ignoble fashion that
they found themselves outcasts at home. Very useful as a
resource for GMs who feel like attaching a fantasy Africa to
their fantasy Europe, but a quick lick of paint and many of
the incidents and background details in this book can be
transplanted to almost any climate.
* "Warfare in the Classical World" by John Warry.
St. Martin's Press, 1981. There are more recent editions and
it is still in print.
Describes instruments and tactics of battle from the early
Greeks to the late Romans in entertaining layman's language.
Contains many detailed illustrations. Good for frpg gamers
because many frpgs are actually set in a tech level world
approximating the King Arthur or early Medieval period
rather than late Middle Age as many seem to think. Late
Roman is more Arthurian in many ways than Middle Age. A
good Discovery Channel documentary was also made based on
this book.
* "The Face of Battle" by John Keegan.
Viking Press, 1976. There are more recent editions and it is
still in print.
Eminent military historian discusses the battlefield
experience from a grunt's perspective. Does so through 3
case studies: Agincourt, Waterloo & The Somme. Pays special
attention to the motives behind soldiers' actions. Really
helpful to inform a gamemaster's notion of how battles
progress and how characters behave during and after battle.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
3. MODERN DAY
3a. HORROR
* The X-Files Declassified, by Frank Lovece
Citadell Press, 1996. A bit dated, might be a bit hard to
get... An Unauthorized Guide to X-Files, featuring in debt
descriptions of every episode from the 1st to the 3rd season
of this eminent show. X-Files is a treasure trove for modern
horror roleplaying, and with a bit of tweaking makes good
fantasy too. Get a more recent guide than mine, and you'll
see the entire story-arc much better.
3b. MILITARY/MERC
* "Small Arms of the World" by WHB Smith [No availability
information given]
A definitive work on practically all modern firearms in
production, it is occasionally revised as new weapons are
added to the mix, a bit pricey but an excellent reference
book.
* "The Good Guys Wear Black" by Steve Collins Arrow 1998
(paperback); ISBN: 0099186829. Available from Amazon UK at
£4.79 (not available from Amazon US).
Subtitled "The True Life Heroes of Britain's Armed Police",
this is Collins' account of his own career in the elite
section SO19 of the Metropolitan Police, describing
training, equipment, operational procedure and the kind of
incidents that British armed police have to deal with, from
organised crime to terrorists and drunken soldiers on leave.
Useful background material for any GM running a modern or
near-future police or special ops game, especially one set
in the UK. Collins offers a solid impression of the kind of
people employed in this line of work, the qualities they
need to possess and the pressures they come under.
* "One Up: A Woman in Action with the SAS" by Sarah Ford
Harper Collins 1997. ISBN: 000638837X
Ford's autobiography briefly recounts her tough working
class childhood and her early career in the Royal Navy
before moving on to her progression into 'the Det', an elite
army unit working against the IRA in Northern Ireland. (As a
woman, Ford couldn't actually join the SAS, though she did
come to work alongside them.) Training, intelligence
gathering and counter-terrorist operations are all covered,
along with the personal (and sexual) tensions that took
their toll on Ford and those she worked with.
Useful general background reading for the genre. Ford's
descriptions of herself and her colleagues provides very
usable raw material for realistic NPCs.
* "The New Mercenaries" by Anthony Mockler Sidgwick and
Jackson 1985. Corgi 1986 (paperback).
An account of the resurgence of mercenarism in post-colonial
Africa, starting with 'Mad Mike' Hoare and Robert Denard in
Katanga in 1960, through Costas 'Colonel Callan' Georgiou's
1976 exploits in Angola, and ending with Hoare again, this
time in the Seychelles where an attempted mercenary coup in
1981 swiftly turned into a fiasco. Other operations in
Benin, Biafra and elsewhere are lightly touched upon.
Plenty of gripping and detailed accounts of mercenary
actions, and lots of factual background to lend authenticity
to an NPC (or PC), and obviously useful for any merc
campaign or scenario set in post-colonial Africa. The book
also includes the full employment contract offered to
mercenaries working for Hoare in the Congo.
* Jane's Books [NF - No availability information given, but
this is a very well known and reputable range of titles.]
These books will teach you all you need to know about modern
military hardware , pricey but excellent source, and
reference material. Because my real use of these books is
for my miniatures painting they help in getting the
camouflage patterns realistic.
3c. REFERENCE BOOKS FOR THE MODERN CAMPAIGN SETTING
a) Local phone directory, published by your friendly phone
company. This is a good source for names and businesses for
your campaign.
b) Thomas Brothers Guide (preferably of the year you're
portraying). This is a good source of detailed and
accurate street maps as well as street names. An outdated
one can often be picked up cheap.
c) Brochures on various tourist attractions. Many offer
maps of the facility, and the attractions could serve as a
backdrop for an adventure. For example, I have used Pioneer
Courthouse Square as a setting for some of my campaign's
scenes, with the assistance of a website offering a layout,
along with pertinent details about the site.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
I hope this file helped point out some interesting and
useful books for your GMing. Feel free to send in your own
GM Library recommendations!
Have more fun at every game!
johnn@roleplayingtips.com
End of Supplemental #14
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@